The England coach Steve McNamara will switch the focus of his World Cup preparations to Australia after Friday's solid win against the Exiles, flying to Sydney to watch and meet with the clutch of contenders who have been impressing in the National Rugby League.

McNamara will watch 10 matches in 20 days starting with Friday's NRL fixture between the Canterbury Bulldogs, for whom former St Helens prop James Graham recently returned from a lengthy biting suspension, and the Sydney Roosters – who will include a number of probable World Cup opponents including the New Zealand forward Sonny Bill Williams.

Two days later at least two of the four Burgess brothers who have joined Russell Crowe's South Sydney – Sam and George – will be in action in the west of the city against Parramatta, and McNamara will then head north to Queensland to watch Melbourne's Halifax-born stand-off Gareth Widdop play against the Gold Coast Titans. He will also see the second game in the State of Origin series in Brisbane on Wednesday wekk, when all of Australia's likely selections will be involved.

"Even though I speak to our Australian-based players at least a couple of times a month, the opportunity to see them in person is vital," said McNamara. "They are all excited about this year and representing England on home soil. It is a big deal for them."

Several more England players are expected to head for the NRL next year, including Wigan's full-back Sam Tomkins, who is thought to have agreed a deal with the New Zealand Warriors, and Graham has warned that while that can only benefit the prospects of the national team, it poses a growing threat to the credibility of the Super League competition.

"The more exposure to these high-level games that English players have, you get that benefit for the national team – but also you have to look at what it might do to the English competition so it's a catch-22 situation," he said.

"If a lot of players come down here you have to look at what effect that would have on the European Super League so it's about finding that right balance. It's a bit of a concern."

McNamara will take the England squad to South Africa for a high-altitude training camp ahead of the World Cup, and they are shortly expected to confirm a final warm-up match against Italy at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster – which will be shown live on the BBC – the week before they open the tournament against Australia at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 26 October, when Italy also face Wales in the second half of a double-header.